Nanotubes possess many unique properties quite useful in many devices, specifically exemplified in electronic devices. One problem of commercialization is the absence of methods to align the nanotubes easily and have them spontaneously form in the proper arrangement.
Difficulties with assembly result from the properties of the nanotubes themselves; they are small, on the order of 0.6 to several nanometers in diameter. During the manufacture process, nanotubes lengths differ. Additionally, when nanotubes are manufactured, they tend to self-aggregate given their hydrophobic nature. Nanotubes prefer environments that do not contain water, provided the nanotubes are not chemically derivatized with polar groups, or dissolved in appropriate solvents to make them soluble.
Since nanotubes vary by length and self-aggregate, they tend to form random piles of “spaghetti”. Once in a tangled matte they can only be used in plate form arrays; for example, as a conductive plate in capacitors, a tangled matte of nanotubes is separated by a dielectric and can be rolled or stacked plate formed into a capacitor.